The MOD are usually flinging large quantities of ammunition over Lulworth Firing Range during the week. And the entire area from Kimmeridge to Lulworth Cove and way out to sea is strictly off limits.
Actually that is not strictly true. A yachtsman can exercise right of passage, but doing that holds up the entire military operation… so it ain’t so smart – nor will it be received politely.
Lulworth Firing Ranges
Fortunately all this shooting malarkey comes to a halt over the weekend, so we gained access to some of the coast that is otherwise inaccessible.
Places such as Worbarrow Bay, which includes to its left, Mupe Bay.
And it is Mupe Bay where we stopped for our first evening after throwing off our lines in Gosport.
The information on Mupe bay says something about great holding at anchor in mud, and equally great shelter from westerly winds.
All that is true, but what is glossed over in these snippets of information is the incessant swell that comes in. This arrives at such as frequency that makes you think it is all over… then it starts again. It has the impact of throwing the boat from beam to beam with only a couple of minutes respite in-between.
Actually this wasn’t so bad. I suppose it was womb-like in its soporific effect – assuming the person with the womb is on a roller coaster.
Still, the day was blisteringly hot, so we took the opportunity to do practically nothing at all. The scene was just as it might be in the Mediterranean. And the next day we did get to see more of the Dorset coast by sea while motoring to Portland (no wind). And it is striking.
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